AuthorTopic: Who do you want? (Read 12210 times)

The Unsworth shouts are poor, people seem to think being an ex player will have any sort of effect on the squad, it counts for shit nowadays - Shearer at Newcastle springs to mind

I disagree. If our U23 manager was a complete unknown, or even some miserable ex-Liverpool player, who routinely (1) sent out well-organized sides, (2) motivated his players to perform well, and (3) sent players to the first team who looked totally prepared for the demands of that level, I'd feel the same way about his candidacy for the job (on an interim basis, of course). Shearer had some coaching background but absolutely zero experience with managerial duties and that's one of the many reasons why he tanked. That appointment was pure sentiment and yes, it was stupid. Someone like Duncan Ferguson or Mikel Arteta (who I'm sure is learning a lot from Guardiola, but who is ultimately only an assistant) would be more akin to the Shearer appointment. And even then, neither of those get anywhere close to how unqualified Shearer was.

It's fair enough if you don't care for Unsworth on the basis of inexperience. We only have one dead rubber with the first team, a couple of caretaker spells at Preston, and his U23 work to judge him on. But I still think that he's honing genuine managerial skills at the U23 level and that he would do a good job for the rest of the season while we sort out the larger behind-the-scenes problems at the club.

[It's also worth mentioning that plenty of youth team managers from around Europe have made the step up and have done well in first team management: Thomas Tuchel, Pal Dardai, Julian Nagelsmann, Simone Inzaghi (thanks, @hill135 ). Maybe it's time for some of England's most talented U23 managers to get opportunities in first team management.]